Award-Winning Steak Chili Recipe to Feed a Crowd for Under $25

This Award-Winning Chili Recipe Will Make You a Hero

It is officially cold outside, and one of the best cold weather dishes I can think of is a big pot of homemade chili. It goes great with football, at tailgates, parties, or even just as a family meal that you want to stretch throughout the week. I recently shared a homemade salsa recipe, but it’s time to shift gears. There are two things that make chili such a great thing: it’s cheap to make, and you can easily feed a lot of people, or create multiple meals for your family with just one pot. If you don’t believe this recipe is good, I’ll let the comments be the judge. There are over 100 comments on this recipe already and most are talking about the gold medals and trophies this recipe won at their chili cook-off. If you try this recipe and win, be sure to come back and let me know!
So, what if I told you that you could feed a dozen people, or supply your family of four with multiple meals for three days all for under $25? Well you can, and you can do so even using steak! Vegetarians, you may want to look away now, because we’re going to be putting together a really hearty and meaty chili. If you don’t eat meat, I’m sure you could find something to substitute, and probably even save a good deal of money, but you’re on your own finding a recipe for that.

Anyway, I want to share with you a relatively inexpensive chili recipe, but not just any recipe. This recipe has even won awards at chili cook-offs. No, we’re not talking any national competitions you’d see on the Food Network, but this recipe and slight variations has won some top honors at a number of local events over the past 15 or so years. I stole the basis of this recipe from my dad, but shhh, don’t tell him. So, let’s start with the ingredients.

Ingredient List and Cost

2 x 28 oz. Cans of Crushed Tomatoes – 2 x $1.59 = $3.18

28 oz. Can of Brooks Chili Beans – $1.89

Green Bell Pepper – $0.69

Poblano Pepper – 0.26 lb @ $2.49/lb = $0.65

Garlic – 0.10 lb @ $2.99/lb = $0.30

Sweet Onion – 1.21 lb @ $0.88/lb = $1.06

1 lb Roll of Bob Evans Zesty Hot Sausage = $2.50

Round Steak – 2.96 lb @ $3.48/lb = $10.30

Worcestershire Sauce

Tabasco Sauce

Liquid Smoke

Chili Powder

Ground Cayenne Pepper

Ground Coriander

Salt and Pepper

Cumin

These prices were taken from my grocery receipt from last week when making this batch of chili. In total, I spent $20.57 on everything. The only thing that was on sale at the time was the Bob Evans sausage, which was $1.00 off, so if everything was regular price, it would have been around $21.57. You’ll notice I didn’t include prices or add the spices to the total cost. The main reason is that most of these things are typical spices and ingredients that the average kitchen will already have, with the exception of liquid smoke. So, depending on how many of these ingredients you already have, you might not need to purchase any of them, or you may need to spend a few dollars to pick up a small bottle of liquid smoke, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, etc. In that case, you’d want to add anywhere from a couple, to maybe ten dollars or more to stock your pantry with these items. Either way, most are great ingredients to have on hand for dishes other than chili anyway.

Of course, your region may vary, and you may see prices for specific items significantly higher or lower based on availability or season. In addition, you may also be able to save even more money if you can pick up things on sale, especially the meat. Another great savings tip is to grow and can your own tomatoes. Not only will they probably taste better than from a can, but they are virtually free.

Preparing the Chili

Go ahead and chop those peppers. I don’t go too crazy in trying to get everything uniform since chili is a pretty rustic dish, but you do want them relatively small and manageable pieces. You can just use green bell peppers if that’s all you have, but I really like to use one bell, and one poblano pepper.

The same goes for the onions. Again, uniform size isn’t all that important because they will really soften up after cooking and be virtually shapeless anyway. I really like sweet onions for this for their milder flavor. Of course, go ahead and use whatever kind you have on hand or prefer. In this case, I used one large onion that weighed in a little over a pound. If you’re using smaller onions, you may want to use a few. I’d say after all said and done, it was around 3 cups.

Once you have your onions and pepper chopped, go ahead and mince up about 6 cloves of garlic. Then, throw everything into a big bowl. I have to stress the fact that it needs to be a big bowl, because not only are you putting all the veggies in here, but you’ll also be adding all of the meat and mixing it together for marinating a bit later.

Chop the steak into about half inch cubes. I typically find that round steak comes in big flat slabs that are around 1/2 inch thick anyway, so it’s easy enough to cut it into strips, and then cube it crosswise. As seen above, that is only about 1 pound of the 3 pounds total that go into the mix. It can take a little time to get through all of the chopping for this recipe, but your patience will be rewarded.

Once you add the chopped steak to the big mixing bowl full of onions and pepper, you’ll want to take the roll of sausage and break it up into pieces. At this point you’re not looking to do anything special with the sausage other than make it easy enough to work with. Don’t go and throw the whole log right on top since that will make your mixing job that much harder. Just break it up into pieces with your fingers.

Now comes the fun part! To your meat, onion, and pepper mixture, it’s time to add the seasoning for the marinade. To the bowl, add a few large pinches of kosher salt. I prefer kosher salt myself, but whatever you have is fine. If you are using regular table salt you may want to use less. Then, add a teaspoon or so of black pepper. For me, that’s about 20 turns on my pepper grinder. Now it’s time for the liquid components. We’ll be using both the liquid smoke and the Worcestershire sauce. No exact measurements here, but I’d guess about 4 or 5 tablespoons of Worcestershire and maybe 2 tablespoons of liquid smoke to start. Then, dig in with your hands! You need to thoroughly mix everything together. After you get things pretty mixed, you can determine if you need to add any more liquid. You don’t want a soup, but you want it to be moist and have everything covered. You can see from the image above how mine turned out after mixing everything together.

Now, we wait. Cover the bowl, and throw it in the refrigerator overnight if possible. You really want the flavors to get into the meat since that is the heart and soul of this recipe, but if overnight won’t work, you can probably get by with 4 hours. The longer you’re able to let it sit, the better it will be. I know, the smell that this mixture has created will fill your house with some of the most amazing aromas ever, but you’re just going to have to wait.

Cooking the Chili

After the mixture has had time to marinate, it’s time to begin the actual cooking. You’ll want the largest skillet you have to make this process go as quickly as possible. Remember, we’re working with nearly 4 pounds of meat and about 4 or 5 cups of vegetables. Even with a large skillet, it is impossible to brown everything in one batch. I know what you’re thinking, but don’t even try it. If you cram everything into the pan, you’re not going to speed anything up. It will take even longer to cook, and you’ll end up basically steaming the meat. So, work in batches. I have a 12-inch skillet that I used here and it took 3 batches. Each batch took about 7-10 minutes on medium-high heat. We’re not too concerned if the meat is 100% fully cooked since it is going to go into a pot and simmer for a few hours.

As your meat begins to brown, you’ll find yourself with something that looks like the picture above. Notice the liquid that’s coming out of the meat and veggie mixture. This is good! The last thing you want to do is to cook it so long that you boil this all away. You do want to have it reduce a little bit as to make sure you don’t end up with soup instead of chili, but this liquid that’s been extracted from the onions, peppers, meat and marinade is flavor that you can’t get anywhere else. So, it goes right into the chili pot. It doesn’t get better – great items and top brands at closeout prices at Cooking.com!

Once all of the browned meat is dumped into a big pot, you can add the entire can of chili beans. I insist on Brooks, but you can use whatever brand you happen to have. Then, add almost one entire can of crushed tomatoes. We’ll probably end up using close to the entire two cans of tomatoes, but you want to be careful and go slow with adding them, because it can turn from chili to soup very quickly. Remember, you can always add, but it’s very hard to subtract. So start with that, and give it all a good stir to check the consistency.

This is the consistency you’re looking for, although if you like your chili more chunky or more soupy, go for it. But I like mine to hold up well for dipping, but not so runny that you need to almost drink it.

Once you get the right consistency, it’s time for the seasoning. There is no exact science here, and you can really experiment with what works best for you. But you’ll want to start with about 2 tablespoons of chili powder, about 5 dashes of Tabasco sauce, and a teaspoon of both cumin and coriander. Top it off with a light sprinkle of cayenne pepper. Give it a good stir and see how it tastes. It will probably be pretty bland, and that’s fine. Again, it’s easier to add flavor, but nearly impossible to take it out once it’s in. So, slow and steady is the key here. After adding the first round of spices, add a little more of each, with the chili powder being the primary ingredient, and add just small amounts of the others. Keep doing this until the taste and amount of heat is right for you.

All you have to do now is let it simmer. At minimum, I try to give it two hours, but if you have four, that’s great. This long and slow cooking process really gives the meat a chance to become very tender, and all of the flavors and spices to come together.

Eating the Chili

And now it’s time to serve and eat! I like my chili a number of different ways. As pictured above, just a bowl with some shredded cheese on top is fantastic. Sometimes, if I want to make a little more of a meal out of it, we’ll whip up some corn bread. The chili also works great as a dip. I love to buy those Frito Scoops and just dig in with those. Or, consider topping your baked potato with some chili. The possibilities are endless, so you can either serve it all up to a group at a party, or use it in a variety of ways to feed your family for a few days.

Chili also stores quite well. It will last for about a week in the refrigerator, or if you want, put some in the freezer and thaw it out a month or two down the road. Since it is a bit labor-intensive and makes quite a bit, it doesn’t hurt to save some for eating later when you don’t feel like cooking and don’t want to spend money eating out.

KC Beavers is a semi-retired entrepreneur. The subject of personal finance has always fascinated him. In an effort to not bore those around him with all his love of personal finance as much he has come here to bore all of you instead.

Omg... made this today to test run for a chili cookoff at work and it is hands down the best chili I have ever tasted and also noted by family and friends. I added 3 cap fulls of white vinegar to it and that sent the tastebuds into overdrive. Awesome recipe. No reason to look anywhere else. Also, individually try Franks red hot sauce. It is heaven in a bowl.

I used this recipe in my first chili contest last night. It won first place out if 13 entries. By far, the best chili I've ever made. Next time I may add a can of diced tomatoes and use a little less smoke. Thanks for the recipe!

Made this for my chili cook-off and won first place! Had to substitute bush's chili beans, did red peppers in place of green, and used stew meat. All works great. Marinating the meat and cooking meat and peppers before combining with the rest of the ingredients makes a great base for this chili. This recipe is a keeper.

We love this recipe!! It is hands down our favorite. It has become our Halloween dinner tradition for after trick-or-treating the last few years. Always wows the crowd. Thanks for posting and sharing with all of us! :)

I made this four years ago, so glad I found it again. I just put the ingrediants together again tonight and it smells unbelievable like it did 4 years ago! Same amazing receipe that should win the contest Tomorrow. Love this combination!

I used this for a chili cook off not too long ago and won first place against 37 entries, one night hotel stay and 100$ gift card. I marinated the meat and veggies for three days, cooking them in the noon time frame of the third day. Moved the partially cooked mixture and placed crockpot on warm for 10hours. I used a 15oz can of red kidneys and 15oz of pintos just cuz I like the color variation. Since not using chili beans I added a lot more mexican hot chili powder. I love liquid smoke, mesquite!

I won my work competition with this chili (12 contestants). The only difference was I added reconstituted chile peppers blended with tomatoes as the base and some Chorizo to go with the meats listed in the recipe.

I have never made a chili before in my life, but it was finally time to use my brand new slow cooker for the 4th annual contest at my place of work. Took 3rd place! I did everything as described above. Great flavor, great consistency.

Thank you for the recipe. Won our Great Chili Cookoff for 2nd straight year. The Round Steak blows away Ground Beef! After I browned beef and vegetables, I combined in a LARGE stockpot and cooked for 2 hours on low, then transferred to a Crock Pot for 8 hours on Low.

I changed a few items like one other post did:

Added 2 cans Chili Peppers and 1 Red Bell Pepper to the overnight mix

Used 5 cans Ro-Tel Original Diced Tomatoes and 1-28oz can Furmano's Crushed Tomatoes

Hi this looks really good...my only question is about adding the tomatoes. The ingredient list states 2 cans, and in the recipe it says to add almost 1 can in, I don't see where you add the rest of the 1st can and the second can...please advise! I have a chili contest to win this week and I am going w/ this killer recipe.

I am marinating my meat veggies as we speak and cooking tomorrow night for a Saturday morning tailgate. I did use a processor to cut the peppers and onions a lot finer, but otherwise my product looks pretty close to the picture above. It smells amazing and I'm excited to see how it turns out.

I made this recipe and won the office Chili Cookoff today! I did use the "grind" on the food chopper since I don't like big "hunks" of peppers or onions in my mouth. They mix in beautifully with the meat but still give the flavor that you want. Thank you for an excellent recipe!

Well, I just got snuffed again at my annual chili cookoff, and I've determined that what my wife and I have been eating (and loving) for years just isn't going to cut it for competition taste buds. Soooooooooo, looks like next year I will try this one. Unfortunately we don't have the brands you refer to out here, so I'll have to figure that out. And because there wont be any test runs, I am extremely nervous about such a large amount of liquid smoke, especially since I'll be close to doubling or tripling the amount. Really? Really really?

liquid smoke, which flavor? Or does it matter? Im not able to find Brooks Chili Beans, I got Bush one can of mild and 1 can of hot, is that okay? And the sausage I could not find zesty hot , so i just got hot.... please let me know if this makes a big difference or not.

My husband just won first place in his work chili cookoff with this recipe!. (He did not place last year.) Thank you - it's delicious. Only thing he changed was using a red bell pepper instead of the green one.

Just got 3rd place at my work chili cook off. I would have won except I ran out of chili so the later people couldn't vote for me, since they couldn't taste it. Thanks so much for the recipe. Next year I'll make 2 batches and win it!

It's chili time again. i used this recipe about 5 or 6 years ago after looking for days for what sounded like a good recipe. (I don't eat chili) A big group of friends decided to start having an annual chili cook off and I found this. I made it, won first place for the next 3 years. Took 2 years off because they changed the venue of it, however this year I decided I am going to once again make this. Cook off is tomorrow and I have everything marinating as we speak. Let's see if I can pull it off for a 4th win! Thanks for the recipe!!

Thank you for sharing this recipe. We had a chili cook off at work 12-6-13. The champ has won three years in a row. I have been in the restraunt scene most of my career and I felt confident I could squash the champ. I did my research on many recipes and I chose yours. Of coarse I put my own mix to it by adding Serrano peppers and a touch of Buffalo Wild Wings blazing hot sauce for one of my secret weapons. I work in a factory so I had all based covered. 1st I cooked my chili with love which is the most important ingredient , then I wore my chili pepper chef pants , when I arrived to work I saw 16 crockpots of chili and realized competition is officially on. Next stratagy was placement of my two crockpots. I was the last to set up so my( your recipe) was front left corner of table and my white chicken chili was in center of table. Anyways I took out the champ and got first place with your recipe and 5th place with white chicken chili. My goal was accomplished and I am now the chili champ of American plastics union missouri . Thank you Tim Long

This is a really great recipe, but the one ingredient that I don't like is the liquid smoke; although, I do think that smoke is a dimension of flavor that really does enhance chili. To me, it's cheating, kind of like putting MSG in something. I personally use chipotle peppers (smoked red jalapenos) in adobo sauce which I blend with some chicken stock, but bacon also adds a smokey flavor or there's smoked paprika (can be a little hard to find). Worcestershire sauce (specifically Lea & Perrins) is an awesome ingredient for chili that's often overlooked. I also like that you use coriander, which is another great spice that I see missing in many chili recipes. Fresh garlic as opposed to garlic powder is another nice touch with this recipe. I recommend some masa (corn) flour to help thicken the chili. It also adds a subtle sweetness. Because corn flour can lighten the color of the chili up a bit, though, I suggest using it in conjunction with paprika.

Hi Jeremy! I basically made your chili. The changes i made were: i used dried beans, added beer, sugar, tomatoe juice and paprika. Also, i skipped the mariination period and i'm cooking it in a slow cooker and then refrigerating it overnite until the VFW Christmas party. (you know how things taste better when they sit for a day) Note: This is my practice Chili for the cookoff coming up that i would like to enter. I am serving it with a bed of rice or pasta, cheese and cornbread on the side. I will let you know how my Commrades like it.

I'm making this Chili for our Halloween party Wednesday. I could not find the Bob Evans Zesty so I'm using Tennessee Pride Hot Sausage. I started today (Sunday) and will marinate for 24 hours. Would it be better to cook it tomorrow night or marinate for two days and cook Tuesday night? We will be serving Wednesday at lunch.

Hi Jeremy. I was wanting to enter the chili cook off at my husbands work. He is a fire fighter so there will be many fire fighters eating this chili. Is this chili a little hot? I am sure the fire fighters will want a chili that has a little bang to it. If it is not hot or at least mild is there something you suggest I add to make it hot or mild? Thanks

Hello Jeramy ,
Love your recipe! I only changed the type of beef as I did not have in household. BUT, I did have over 2#s, of the best shaved beef, so I sautéed it on the griddle with palm island silver sea salt and fresh ground pepper! A cook off is coming up here in Md, and I certainly going to be a participate in the" Chili do I love U", cook off. Thank You for this budget conscious recipe!

Jeremy, you're a genius. Your intro talked a big game, but your chili backed it up! I've entered what I thought were great chili's in my work's cook-off in the past, but garnered just one 3rd place finish. I entered your chili this year (with a couple modifications) and got enough votes to win 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. Yup, Hero.

- My beef was only 2 lb so I added an extra pound of hot Italian sausage to reach 4 lb of meat.

- I went with one Red Pepper (and the Poblano) instead of the Green Pepper for the better flavor.

- My one major modification was to add a full cup of crumbled Bleu Cheese, and completely dissolve/melt it in for a fuller flavor - that was my wife's idea, which she'd never tried before, but man did it work!

- Finally, I simmered it on the stove for a couple hours, but then decided to throw it in the slow cooker overnight (ended up being about 5 hr in the cooker on low) and the beef turned out unbelievably tender.

I have made this recipe several times before but never in a cook off but I just started culinary school and we are having a chili cook off in a couple months and I know this chili would win but they go by ICA rules so there cannot be any beans…I know I know chili should have beans. What would everyone recommend to keep the flavor and consistency without the beans? I was thinking of using the juices from the can but not the beans but I am sure there are better ideas out there. Would be awesome for this recipe to win a culinary school cook off.

I WON!!! Was named Chili Master this weekend at a Chili Cookoff with this recipe (with one added spice). There were 40 entries - and I was named Chili Master over all! Only difference is - I added "Slap your Momma" spice to the marinade. It was incredible! Thanks Jeremy (and Jeremy's dad) - Great Recipe!!!

Wanted to let you know I just won TWO (Most Original & Fan Favorite) of 5 categories at my workplace cook-off using YOUR recipe, slightly modified. There were 14 entries, and we have probably 400+ employees, so I am thrilled & wanted to say THANK YOU for sharing! Changes were: used a red bell instead of a green (greens taste metallic to me); Used one 14 oz can crushed toms, & one can of the new Hunts fire-roasted diced (very tasty, lent to smokey flavor, with bits of charred toms). No Brooks chili beans here, so used Bush's, also no Bob Evans, so used local grocers spicy sausage roll. Additions were ~1/4 tsp cinnamon, ~1/8 c. sugar, more spice & heat after initial (as you recommended) & did a drop-biscuit style Jiffy cornbread crust on top. (one box Jiffy cornbread mix, one egg, a little milk, mix to a sticky consistency, then drop spoonfuls onto chili during the last hour of cooking). Magnifique! Thanks again for sharing!

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